Hustler Las Vegas Runs on East Coast Attitude

America runs on Dunkin’ and the infamous Hustler Las Vegas gentlemen’s club runs on East coast hustle and attitude. I had the pleasure of speaking with Hustler Club host manager, Frankie Todisco, this week at AVN to find out what it takes to set yourself apart from every other club in Las Vegas.

Frankie is a “Boston boy”— born and raised west of Boston in Central Massachusetts—who graduated from UNLV with a degree in hospitality. Like most people in their early 20’s, Frankie tried on many hats, working as a manager at Best Buy, then a short return home to Massachusetts before returning back to Vegas to work at Deja vu (another Las Vegas gentlemen’s club). Frankie continued being a jack of all trades, venturing into the web cam biz, swingers clubs and then finally landing at Hustler Club in 2013. Frankie used his East coast mentality of hard-work, loyalty and dedication to climb his way up the Hustler ladder; beginning as a part-time employee, moving to supervisor, manager and finally taking over as host manager.

So, how did a guy from Boston take a Las Vegas club from the bottom to the top? “It’s all about social media and promoting,” says Todisco, and he adds, “Hustler Club is now a Top 3 club in Las Vegas.” Being a self-proclaimed strip club connoisseur, I can attest to the fact that Hustler Las Vegas is one of the best, if not the best, club in Las Vegas. The entertainers (and they are entertainers) know how to keep asses in seats and guests throwing money. As a female, I have high expectations before I make it rain for anyone, but at Hustler Club, I’m like a Marine on shore leave—visually stimulated, sexually aroused and I leave with an empty wallet because I shoved every dollar into G-strings.

But anyone with a hospitality degree could do this, right? What makes Frankie so successful at building the Hustler brand and experience? “I bring that east coast mentality, that idea that your word is your bond. It sounds old school, but it’s an idea that a lot of people are missing.” When asked to elaborate, Todisco adds, “If you work your ass off, you’ll make good money. We have 100’s of people a month who want jobs; it’s hard to find people who aren’t flakes, people who you know their word is their bond.” This might sound harsh to some, especially in our current everybody-has-hurt-feelings and everyone must be PC bullshit environment, but hey, sometimes the truth hurts. Suck it up, buttercup! It’s an east coast thing. As Todisco puts it, “You either have it or you don’t. It’s like this: I can teach you football, but I can’t teach you speed. Same thing when it comes to work ethic, loyalty, drive. Those things can’t be taught.” Frankie continues, “I am always afraid that if I fuck up, it will get back to my family back east and I’ll embarrass my family back home.”

Hustler Las Vegas just became a 24 hour/7 days a week venue in April 2017, promoting specials such as their 8am to 8pm open bar (well drinks and PBR beer free) with $1, $2 and $4 drinks and a $5 food menu also available. The club also has an open kitchen menu during operation hours. On Sunday, Industry Night, they offer premium open bar from 7pm to 11 pm.

Hustler Club Las Vegas is not your typical strip club, and they’ve worked hard to set themselves apart. “We raised $250,000 for breast cancer awareness, ” Frankie tells me, “but then they wouldn’t take our check because they didn’t want money from our club. So, we got billboards, took out print ads and web ads, posted on social media and Craigslist letting people know that if they or someone they knew was coping with breast cancer to contact us. We were able to help a lot of people that way.”

The Hustler brand has approximately 140 clubs around the world, with Hustler Las Vegas as the flagship club. Todisco estimates that Hustler has 20,000+ employees, not including the “Independent Professional Entertainers” (a.k.a the female performers). “We want to take the idea in peoples’ heads of a dark, dank strip club and make it a party atmosphere. Our vision is to be the best adult entertainment company anywhere!”